[She's said too much. That silence hangs in the air for far longer than Alear wants, and for a moment she wonders if she's gone too far. Too far where? Alear doesn't know, but the vicegrip on her chest grows tighter and tighter, and for a brief moment she wonders if her heart might burst. She doesn't know why. Was it something she said? She just wants him to be careful. That's all it is. That's all it has to be, right? It's nothing more...right?

When Griss finally speaks up, it does nothing to release the hold on her chest. It lightens, if only briefly, but the grip of something else replaces it. She's not sure what; she's not sure she wants to know what. But...]

I promise. [It comes out breathless when she says it.] I promise that I'll do everything I can to be careful. We're going to put an end to my Father's ambitions, and at the end of it all, we'll both be alive to tell the tale. I promise, I'll do everything I can to make it so.

[Alear's hand seems to move on it's own--she's not sure why, but she's become so used to reaching out to him. But this isn't a hand meant to pull him up, off of the ground where they both lay tired. This isn't the hand of an apology, before one's final breath.

Alear doesn't know why she reaches for one of Griss's hands, but she lays it atop of one of them, like a tangible promise. Her skin is going to positively burn later, in embarrassment; it's already starting to now. But...]

...Thank you, Griss. It means a lot more than I can express.